To capture a creature or enemy, all you need is the right cage and a suitable power supply. Once a powered cage is in place, it’s only a matter of time until something stumbles into your trap. Of course, your specific reasons for capturing creatures will determine which cages you build, where you build them, and what the effects your trapping operation may have on your settlement.
Potential Benefits
The simplest way to utilize your captives is to kill them for the items they carry. Creatures often yield meat and leather, while humans and super mutants usually carry weapons, armor, and ammunition. Why bother scouring the Commonwealth for a Radscorpion Stinger when you can simply lure various radscorpions to a location of your choice? Looking for a specific piece of combat armor? Capture some Gunners until you find one who has what you need.
All inherently friendly creatures improve some aspect of a settlement when they’re released. House cats raise Happiness. Junkyard dogs boost Happiness and Defense. Brahmin produce fertilizer and increase a settlement’s food production. Of course, you can also kill friendly creatures to harvest the items they carry, but doing so cancels the benefits they grant.
If you construct a Beta Wave Emitter, most hostile creatures can be transformed into productive members of the community. As long as a settlement contains an active Beta Wave Emitter, hostile creatures are automatically tamed as they exit their cages. While they’re tamed, most of these creatures boost a settlement’s Defense rating and attack unwelcome visitors on sight.
You can also use your captives to stage arena battles. Each category of tamed creature acts much like an arena team. For example, two tamed mole rats won’t attack each other, but they will attack other types of tamed creatures and any settlers you’ve assigned to a contestant platform. Of course, hostile captives can also be released during an arena battle, but their unchecked aggression makes for a less predictable (and more dangerous) event.
Cage Construction
Most cages take up a considerable amount of space. If you plan to establish an extensive trapping operation, consider doing so in the largest, least-developed settlement under your control. Remember that cages must be repaired between uses. Stock trapping settlements with the required materials, or use supply lines to draw support from other settlements you control.
It’s usually best to install a switch between a cage and its power source. This not only makes it easier to reset a cage between captures, it allows you to release a potentially dangerous captive from a safe distance.
An active cage only has a chance to capture a creature when you’re away from the settlement or while you’re sleeping. If trapping is your priority, consider placing a bed somewhere near your cages. This makes it easier to check for successful captures between naps.
A properly prepared cage is just as effective within an enclosure as it is outside. If your captives are bound for the arena, it’s best to place cages within the designated combat area. Creatures that are meant to join or protect your settlement should generally be captured out in the open, ensuring that they’re granted free reign of the area upon their release.
Security Measures
Releasing a hostile from its cage is obviously a dangerous moment, but that’s not the only risk that comes with trapping creatures. Cages (and the generators that power them) are susceptible to damage—a few stray bullets can cause a cage to spring open. Additionally, holding captives in their cages increases the likelihood of a settlement coming under attack.
The simplest precaution you can take is to check your cages each time you visit a settlement or after you sleep. Minimizing the time your captives are held goes a long way toward discouraging hostile forces from launching retaliatory attacks.
If you have tamed creatures roaming your settlement, protecting your Beta Wave Emitter should be a priority. Emitters and generators are both vulnerable to damage and a sudden equipment failure would cause all of your tamed creatures to turn hostile. Try to place essential equipment in well-protected areas. If your tamed creatures are particularly dangerous, consider building a second Beta Wave Emitter somewhere within the settlement.
Of course, conventional security measures are also helpful. Install turrets at key points to ensure that hostile captives and invading forces never go unchallenged, build walls to keep hostiles away from delicate equipment, and provide your settlers with weapons and armor to improve their performance in combat.
